Rangers provide the ultimate combination between infantry, cavalry and bowmen. They are fast-moving, hard-hitting, and are considerably sturdier than most low-tier Normal Units. Rangers can thus fill several roles on the battlefield, and are dangerous to most enemy Normal Units. In groups they can even subdue low-tier Fantastic Units. As a bonus, Rangers can move at great speeds across the overland map, and can even lead entire armies across rough terrain quickly.

Rangers require an Upkeep Cost of 3 and 1 to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically.

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Rangers are a group of men (humans) dressed in olive-green robes. They carry both a bow and a sword, and are proficient in the use of both weapons. Their uncanny familiarity with the land, as well as with survival techniques, allows them to travel rapidly on any kind of terrain and to lead armies through such terrain easily.

While certainly not the most dangerous units in terms of attack strength, Rangers excel by offering a strong Melee Attack and respectable Ranged Attack. They can be used alternately or together, giving the unit great flexibility during battles.

Each Ranger's Melee Attack has a strength of 4. This is fairly strong for a Normal Unit and delivers an average damage output of 1.2 per Ranger, per attack.

Alternatively, the Rangers can use a Ranged Attack up to 8 times in every battle. Each Ranger's Ranged Attack has a strength of 3, which is also impressive for a Normal Unit. Assuming the target is very close (1 or 2 tiles away), this delivers an average damage output of 0.9 per Ranger, per attack. Shooting at a longer distance incurs To Hit penalties, which sharply reduce the expected damage output.

Though these damage counts would be respectable for other Normal Units, the Rangers unit's attack is actually a little weaker because the unit only contains up to 4 figures. It is therefore weaker than Halberdiers with its Melee Attack, and weaker than Longbowmen with its Ranged Attack - but the key is that it possesses both types of attacks and can use them interchangeably when necessary.

With Experience, of course, both attacks become gradually stronger, and can eventually allow the Rangers to take on nearly any other Normal Unit - and some low-tier Fantastic Units - especially if it gets to make a few Ranged Attacks before melee combat is reached.

Rangers are equipped with light but surprisingly durable armor, possessing a Defense score of 4. They can deflect about 1.2 points of Damage from any damage source, on average. This makes it significantly harder for enemy low-tier Normal Units to hurt the Rangers, but won't stop any serious weaponry or Fantastic Creature attacks.

Furthermore, Rangers are tougher than most Normal Units, possessing 2 Hit Points per Ranger. Sadly, this is again marred by the unit's 4-figure count, giving it a total of only 8 when fully healed. This is equivalent to the health of a Spearmen unit.

As a result, Rangers need to do whatever is in their power to avoid damage - either picking their battles carefully or doing their best to avoid Melee combat. Fortunately, the unit is quite capable of both thanks to its fast movement speed (see below).

For purposes of defending against Curses and other combat maledictions, the Rangers have an above-average Resistance score of 6. This can protect them from some ill effects, but will probably fail about as often as it succeeds. With Experience however, Rangers can become surprisingly resistant to a large variety of ill effects.

Rangers are significantly faster than all other foot-mobile Normal Units, moving at 2. This makes them as fast as Cavalry, and in some cases they are used interchangeably with Horsebowmen as a result.

In combat, Rangers use their speed to get into close range for a Ranged Attack, and to keep their distance from enemy units while making those attacks. If an enemy is approaching, the Rangers can withdraw one tile and fire in the same turn, allowing them to seriously hurt their pursuer. This only works against slow enemy units, of course.

Rangers can also utilize their fast combat speed to react wherever they are needed on the battlefield, or chase down weaker prey to destroy it with a Melee Attack.

On the overland map, Rangers possess the Pathfinding trait - they spend only 0.5 Movement Points when moving into any land tile, completely regardless of its Terrain! This means that a unit of Rangers (or a stack full of Rangers) can move up to 4 land tiles per turn, making them both excellent scouts and very hard to stop when advancing into enemy territory.

Furthermore, Rangers can act as guides, leading armies through any terrain at a very fast speed. Any army containing Rangers can also move at 0.5 Movement Points per tile, allowing for quick invasions, surprise attacks, or swift reaction to invaders.

In many ways, Rangers can be thought of not as infantry, but as an upgraded version of the NomadHorsebowmen - a fast and versatile unit that can assist other units in several ways during combat.

Rangers will usually start the battle by heading towards the enemy army, stopping only when within close range. They then begin to shower their enemy with Ranged Attacks, weakening any potentially-threatening units. The Rangers can use their speed to withdraw from any enemy that tries to catch up with them, while still pelting that enemy with arrows during the withdrawal.

Once an enemy unit has been sufficiently weakened, either the Rangers themselves or another combat unit can move into Melee range and finish it off. Remember of course that Rangers are not too strong physically, and are too expensive to just be thrown into Melee combat with a strong enemy. Either weaken the enemy first, or go for weak targets instead.

Rangers work very well in large hordes - though they are a little too expensive to produce in such large quantities. Less-expensive Horsebowmen can sometimes fill in the holes in an army primarily consisting of Rangers, to give a more durable component. Nonetheless, Rangers are very dangerous when amassed, since each Ranger unit can be relegated to a different role on the battlefield as required by the situation - and the volume of arrows alone can decimate much of the enemy army before the Rangers swoop in and clean up the remnants.

Rangers are also invaluable on the overland map. Not only are they excellent scouts for mapping out a continent rapidly, but they can also lead entire armies quickly through any type of Terrain. An army containing Rangers can make a swift advance into enemy territory, even across mountains or other undefended regions.

Note: In version 1.31 of the game, when Rangers are being considered for construction at a town they show as having the Mountaineer and Forester traits. When the unit is actually constructed, it has the Pathfinding trait as explained above, but not the other two. This is actually beneficial, since Pathfinding is better than both the other abilities!

The table below details the average amount of damage that each Figure in a Rangers unit will deliver with each type of attack, based on Experience Level. It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to figure out the chance of hurting that target.

* This column assumes a Ranged Missile Attack at a distance of 1-2 tiles from the target. Beyond this distance, To Hit penalties apply that can severely reduce Damage output.430330<img src=""><img src=""><img src=""><img src="">

Rangers are unique to the Nomad race, and thus may be produced in any NomadTown.

A town must contain both an Animists' Guild and a Barracks to be able to produce Rangers. Should a town lose an existing Barracks or Animists' Guild, it can no longer produce Rangers until replacement structures are built.

Rangers may appear for hire as Mercenaries. They may already have some Experience on being hired, and several units may be hired simultaneously. Hiring these units requires a certain cost in Gold that depends on many different factors. Ranger Mercenaries have the same Upkeep Cost as a normally-constructed unit.